ASUCI and New University hosted debates for academic affairs vice president and external vice president on April 9 at Crystal Cove Auditorium.
The evening began with the debate for academic affairs vice president between Summer Phan and Christopher Tan. Phan is a second-year biological sciences major, and Tan is a third-year biomedical engineering premedical major.
The debate began with the candidates explaining their understanding of the position of academic affairs vice president and the most important issues facing the student body they would like to address. Tan expressed his desire to improve the quality of education at UCI and ensure that classes provided are valuable to students as more online classes are being made available. Phan seeks to expand accessibility to academic resources in order to help students be aware of their options and plan for their careers in the future.
Candidates were then asked if they would consider creating new positions or improving current positions within their office. Tan stated that he would improve the Outreach Commission and hold more town halls and office hours to better connect with the student body.
“I want to make sure that we are reaching out and we are hearing the student voices that need to be heard and making sure that our communication goes both ways — the students hear the faculty and the faculty hear the students,” Tan said.
When asked about how to best handle the rise in AI and its use in classrooms, both candidates agreed that the issue was complicated. Tan stated that UCI should want its students to be experienced in AI as it is used in numerous forms and careers. However, he acknowledged its harm to academic integrity. He believes that teachers and administrators should be educated on how to best manage the reliance on AI, stating that many teachers use online sites to check for AI, which can lead to many students being falsely accused of using AI on assignments. Phan believes that UCI should rely on teachers to make clear statements about their position on AI use in their class and whether and how it should be used.
Candidates were also asked about possible improvements to the Learning and Academic Resource Center (LARC) to make it more accessible to students. Tan stated that he would want to compile student feedback about the center and ensure that it is received and applied wherever necessary. Phan stated that in order to improve the accessibility, LARC must be made free for students.
“If you want to make things accessible, you have to make them free because no student is going to pay for someone to teach them something when they could just ask someone else or … use the internet,” Phan said.
After the academic affairs vice presidential debate, the external vice presidential debate took place between Jared Castaneda and Adam Weinberg. Castaneda is a third-year political science and sociology major, and Weinberg is a third-year engineering major.
When asked why they were uniquely qualified for the position, Castaneda cited his experience working under the Office of the External Vice President for the past three years, which he said has given him insight into the difficulties in the higher education system. Weinberg stated that being an outsider from ASUCI is a strength, as he believes that his outside perspective and scientific approach will help ASUCI reach its full potential.
Candidates were then asked to state the most important issues they believed were affecting the student body and explain how they would address them. Castaneda stated that students feel disenfranchised by UCI and undocumented students feel unsupported by the school. He believes that establishing quarterly town halls will help advocate for and further support students. Weinberg stated that the financial aid crisis has deeply affected students and explained that he would use the powers of the Office of the External Vice President to lobby Congress and pressure UCI to fix its financial aid system. Weinberg also claimed that the UCI Financial Aid Office has been intentionally underfunded and understaffed by the university.; New University is unable to confirm these claims.
Candidates also addressed what items they would prioritize on the local level if elected. Weinberg stated that he would strive to improve the public transportation and its availability to students, especially those living off campus. Castaneda explained that he would seek to expand the Cal Grant program, as well as establish voting coalitions and a second voting center on campus in order to dismantle voter suppression tactics.
Candidates were also asked to explain their opinions on ASUCI’s collaboration with the UC Student Association (UCSA) and the conflicting relationship they have had in the past. While Castaneda seeks to strengthen ASUCI’s relationship with UCSA and continue to fix the issues between the two organizations, Weinberg believes a more independent ASUCI will help create a more personal relationship with UCI students.
Voting for the ASUCI elections is open from April 14-18. For more information, visit elections.uci.edu.
Grace Hefner is a News Staff Writer. She can be reached at ghefner@uci.edu.
Edited by Jaheem Conley.